Harper County, Kansas
Harper County (county code HP) is a county located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 6,034. Its county seat and most populous city is Anthony. Harper County was named for Sergeant Marion Harper of the 2nd Kansas Cavalry, who died of wounds suffered near Waldron, Arkansas, in December 1863.Kansas Place-Names, John Rydjord, University of Oklahoma Press, 1972, ISBN 0-8061-0994-7 History 19th century The original organization of Harper County was one of the largest frauds in county government. In 1873, a group of three men organized Harper County, designating the then fictitious city of "Bluff City" as the county seat. The petition for organization used several names out of a Cincinnati telephone directory to represent as residents of Harper County. In 1874, the state attorney general investigated, and found not a single resident of the county. The "founders" of the county had sold $40,000 worth of bonds. Harper County was settled starting in 1877, and the county was organized for a second time in 1878. Since Bluff City could not be shown to have existed, Anthony was designated as the temporary county seat. In an election in 1879, Anthony won as county seat even though 2,960 votes were cast in a county with 800 legal voters. 20th century 21st century Due to new and high-paying jobs at area oil fields and wind farms, Harper County experienced an economic boom; as of 2012, rental housing and office space in towns such as Danville, Harper, and Anthony has more than quadrupled in price, in properties ranging from double-wide trailers to a Carnegie library. Law and government Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, Harper County remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 2006, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. Geography According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.81%) is land and (or 0.19%) is water. Adjacent counties * Kingman County (north) * Sumner County (east) * Grant County, Oklahoma (southeast) * Alfalfa County, Oklahoma (southwest) * Barber County (west) Demographics ]] As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 6,536 people, 2,773 households, and 1,807 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 3,270 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.23% White, 0.83% Native American, 0.23% Black or African American, 0.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population. There were 2,773 households out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were non-families. 32.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.90. In the county the population was spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 22.00% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 23.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,776, and the median income for a family was $39,866. Males had a median income of $27,869 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,368. About 8.50% of families and 11.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.70% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over. Cities and towns Name and population of incorporated cities (2004 estimate): * Anthony, 2,307 (county seat) * Harper, 1,511 * Attica, 616 * Bluff City, 78 * Danville, 58 * Waldron, 17 * Freeport, 6 Townships Harper County is divided into six townships. The cities of Anthony and Harper are considered governmentally independent and are excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size. } |- | Township 2 || 71205 || || 144 || 0 (1) || 363 (140) || 1 (0) || 0.23% || |- | Township 3 || 71209 || || 394 || 1 (3) || 383 (148) || 2 (1) || 0.44% || |- | Township 4 || 71213 || || 232 || 1 (2) || 297 (115) || 0 (0) || 0.06% || |- | Township 5 || 71217 || || 463 || 2 (4) || 277 (107) || 0 (0) || 0.16% || |- | Township 6 || 71221 || || 296 || 1 (3) || 280 (108) || 0 (0) || 0.06% || |- |colspan=9|Sources: |} Education Map of Harper County (map legend)]] Unified school districts * Anthony-Harper USD 361 * Attica USD 511 See also * Dry counties References Further reading * History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook) * Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook) External links ;Official sites * Harper County * Harper County Economic Development Council ;Additional information * Blue Skyways * Kansas Statistical Abstract ;Maps * Harper County Map, KDOT * Kansas Highway Map, KDOT * Kansas Railroad Map, KDOT * Kansas School District Boundary Map, KSDE Category:Counties of Kansas Category:Harper County, Kansas Category:Established in 1867